Writing snacking... Is this the way forward?
And I don't mean keeping chocolate next to your notebook, although that's always a good idea too.
Dear friends,
I’ve been seeing lots of articles about exercise ‘snacking’ in recent weeks. In case you’re not familiar with this term, it’s the practice of small, bite-sized bursts of exercise: getting up from your desk and doing twenty squats, stretching whilst you’re waiting for the kettle to boil, doing leg raises whilst brushing your teeth, and so on.
Substacker
writes about exercise snacking here. (I also love that he makes exercise ‘artful.’)Some exercise snackers seem to be focused on maintaining mobility. Others use it for overall cardio fitness and to increase resting metabolic rates. All the theories underpinning exercise snacking are based on one grand theory: exercising a little and often is good for you.
Recently, I’ve been asking myself to what extent this might be the same for writing?
I used to maintain that writing every day was not essential. I used to reassure people that it was really OK if they didn’t manage to write every day, that it’s not possible or practical for all of us, that we shouldn’t put ourselves under pressure.
But lately, I’ve started to change my mind about this.
I still don’t think we should beat ourselves up or give ourselves a hard time about not writing. Telling yourself that you are lazy, useless or undisciplined is just as unhelpful as telling yourself that you are blocked.
However, perhaps if we keep saying to ourselves and everyone else in our lives that it’s fine that we didn’t write today because our family needed us to do something, or we had to take the dog to the vet, or something unexpected happened at work, or some other responsibility intervened, we are actually cheating ourselves as writers.
In a society that doesn’t really value creativity – at least, not in the way that it values productivity and money-making – there will always be something else that is more crucial and urgent than our writing.
I’m beginning to suspect that, by telling people that it doesn’t matter if they don’t write everyday, I’ve been an unwitting enabler of this culture.
What would happen if I started to tell people that, if they really want to write, they deserve to write no matter what? What if I said that honouring yourself as a writer and putting your creative practice first is not selfish or self-indulgent but something you need for your own wellbeing, like eating healthily, getting a good night’s sleep or – well, exercising?
What if we were to adopt writing snacking as a way forward?
Jot something down in your notebook when you’re waiting for the kettle to boil. Keep a piece of paper by your bed and write down your dreams every morning. Do a quick three-minute spiral-write when you’re in a boring meeting. Take your laptop and work on your novel-in-progress when you’re waiting for your child outside their dance class/ swimming practice? End the day with three minutes of journaling.
Take writing snacks.
Every day.
It could start a writing revolution.
Writing Together - next live Zoom session this Sunday 13 October 2024 at 4pm (UK time)
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With love,
Sophie xoxo